Why Your Site Loses Visitors

I have researched a recent poll taken to find out the top five reasons a person would choose not to return to a website. Here is what I came up with:

1. Excessive AnimationToo much animation or flash objects can distract your visitor from the real â€œmeat and potatoesâ€ of your site and cause them to lose interest very quickly. Try to only use animation where it would add a specific value to the content of your site.

2. Too Many Colors & FontsJust because your monitor can display 5 million different colors doesnâ€™t mean that you have to use every single one of them. The same goes for fonts. Try to use just 1 or 2 fonts within your website as well as only a few choices of colors to give your site a recognizable theme or style that looks professional and is easy on the eyes.

3. Poor Design & MaintenanceBe sure to update any links that do not work correctly. Dead links not only make for a poor user experience, but the search engines hate them as well. Also, itâ€™s important to remember that Internet Explorer is not the only browser out there. Be sure that your website is designed to display and function properly with Firefox, Chrome, Opera and other popular Internet browsers. If you havn’t already voted, the current poll asks which browser you use. Feel free to cast your vote so we can follow up a summary of the results with a post in the near future.4. Pop-ups
Pop-ups and pop-unders should only be used when you feel it to be absolutely necessary. First of all, many Internet users will be using a pop-up blocker, so chances are your message will not even be seen. Secondly, even if they are blocked, pop-ups and pop-unders are very annoying to visitors and really give a nonprofessional â€œspammyâ€ appearance. Donâ€™t give something to your visitors that they are not expecting. If you must use pop-ups, only have them execute if the visitor clicks on a link and be sure to make mention that the link will open in a new window.

5. Excessive AdvertisementsEveryone wants to make money from their website- and rightfully so. Only, try to find a balance between content and advertising. Nobody wants to visit a website where you have to sift through 5 minutes of ads to find 5 seconds of quality content.

When creating a new website or redesigning an existing site, it may be a good idea to have your friends or family give their honest reviews of your siteâ€™s overall look and functionality. Another option is to join a webmasters forum and ask members to visit your site and give their reviews and opinions. This will help you broaden your horizons to design your site to be appealing to people of all different demographics instead of deigning it to be appealing only to you.